Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to boxes, and in particular to reusable boxes which can be collapsed when empty.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Boxes or containers of many sorts are in current use. Corrugated cardboard boxes are especially popular, and often times these boxes are used to transport items, for example, empty containers like plastic bottles, to a plant for the bottles to be filled. Often times the corrugated containers are discarded after the empty bottles are taken out of them to be filled. This is done even though the corrugated containers are in good condition because the boxes are easier to replace than reuse.
The present invention provides a container or box which can be easily and inexpensively reused in such a situation.
A box of the present invention has two sides, two ends and a bottom, with a center partition running from one end of the box to the other, and the bottom connected along folds to opposite sides of the box. The bottom and ends each have a central fold, and the bottom is unconnected to the partition and is unconnected to the ends. The partition is hingedly connected to the ends, the sides and ends are hingedly connected to one another and the bottom is hingedly connected to the sides so that the box sides can be collapsed toward the partition by folding both ends relative to the sides in the same direction about the corners which connect the sides to the ends and folding the bottom relative to the sides by folding the bottom about the central fold line so as to move it away from the partition.
The partition is preferably made from two panels which are attached back-to-back to one another and each panel has end flaps at each end which make up the ends of the box. The end flaps have their ends attached to flaps of the side walls of the box.
Various different top configurations can be provided for the box. For example, a center closing lid may be provided. Alternatively, no lid may be provided and an upstanding tab may be provided on the center partition which fits into a corresponding slot in the bottom of the box for stacking the boxes in registration with one another.
In another embodiment, a handle may be cut out of the center partition to provide a central handle for carrying the container.
A box of the invention is preferably, but not exclusively, made from corrugated cardboard. It would also be possible to use other materials such as plastic, paperboard, etc.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the detailed description which follows. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.